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Month: October 2014

Fabianski on a free? Swapsies for Sigurdsson? Or just 4 million quid for a young, hungry and determined English full back? (No I haven’t got my facts wrong I mean Eric Dier.) This summer’s transfer marketplace will be remembered for two polar opposites, bargains and burglaries!

Shane Long cost Saints 3 times as they sold Lambert to Liverpool for, and 12 times as much as they bought him for! 7 games into Lambert’s stint as a Saint, he’d put the ball into the back of the net 6 times if you mirror that with Shane Long’s record, he’s yet to hit a shot on target! It may still be early days but Long better start scoring soon, or rather than be remembered in the same league as Le Tissier he’ll be remembered like Lee.

Shane Long wasn’t the only player to have had an “Inflated” transfer fee this year, PSG splashed out £50 Million on Eccentric Chelsea CB and Sideshow Bob lookalike David Luiz, Fulham threw £11 Million at second division striker Ross McCormack and Liverpool shelled out £20 Million on a headless defender, they got his noggin for free. My point here isn’t that “There’s too much money in football” but that the fee’s are unnecessary, what’s the point in paying £20 Million on a player who cost a quarter of that just one year previous? There isn’t any!

The masters of the transfer market aren’t those who splash the cash but those who are subtle, if you pay £1 Million on a striker and it doesn’t work out, then yes thats frustrating, but it’s not the end of the world. If you pay £50 Million however and he fluffs his lines, then that most certainly is! Reverse that however pay a million quid on a striker and he sets the world on fire, you feel much better than if he cost you 50, Compare Lambert, Michu, Benteke or Joe Hart to Fernando Torres, they cost collectively just under £10 Million, with a total of 155 goals between them compare that too just 19 from Mr Torres yet they cost just 20% of what he cost? You see where I’m coming from?

For me, this season two players stand out as “Bargain buys”, firstly Leandro Ulloa of Premier League newsboys Leicester City, The Foxes have taken to England’s top division, like ducks to water and a big part of that would have to be Ulloa. After scoring roughly a goal every other game for Brighton in the Championship, Ulloa took a shortcut to the Premier League with Leicester costing them a club record £8 Million and has scored 5 goals in his opening 5 games most notably a brace against Manchester United in a 5-3 win, almost immediately justifying the money paid for his services.

The other player who sticks out to me from the rest as a bargain is Southampton’s very own Graziano Pellè. The Italian was brought into replace Rickie Lambert, and with huge boots to fill, and the club being flushed down to second division by pundits, the big man has stepped up under immense pressure, also scoring 5 goals so far this term, earning himself a call up to the Italian national ten for the first time, as well as a debut goal! Also costing Saints 8 Million this really has to be up there with Ulloa as one of Summers try bargains.